UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. (Kyodo) Three severely burned bodies were found Wednesday morning in the parking lot of a graveyard in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, police said, adding that they probably committed suicide, or were victims of a murder-suicide.
After tracing the ownership of a minicar at the site, police believe the three are members of a family from Kanuma.
Police said the bodies are probably those of a company employee in his 60s, his wife and their son, who was in his 30s.
The bodies were so badly burned it was difficult even to determine their sex, the police said.
A note found at their home in Kanuma read, "I will atone for what I've done by killing myself," according to the police.